Letter sent to PM over A&E night time closure

Rochdale Infirmary

A letter has been sent to the Prime Minister about the diversion of ambulances to Rochdale Infirmary’s A&E unit between 6pm and 8am.

The letter to David Cameron is from the Pennine Acute Hospital Trust Health, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, a committee made up of councillors from the areas of the Trust’s hospitals, including Rochdale Infirmary, the Royal Oldham Hospital, Bury’s Fairfield Hospital and North Manchester General.

The chairwoman of the committee, Rochdale Councillor, Linda Robinson explained that the letter was sent on behalf of all the committee members from all three political parities, it explains the Infirmary's history and raises concerns about the "blue light" ambulance divert.

She said: “The letter has been drafted and approved and sent to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, we hope that in taking this step some intervention will be taken, or a review of what’s going on will be undertaken.

“We want what is best for the people of Rochdale. Closing our A&E is going to have a knock on affect on the hospitals in Bury and Oldham.

“We have seen in the past when ambulances have travelled to Oldham instead of Rochdale and patients have been turned away and sent to North Manchester or Bury – it is like a domino effect and it is of great concern.”

Councillor Robinson and her colleagues on the committee are now waiting for a response from the PM.

The closure of Rochdale Infirmary’s A&E began on Monday (2 August 2010). The decision was made in July, despite the plans being denied on numerous occasions.

The Pennine Acute Trust said the decision had been made on the grounds of staffing problems and that patient safety was top priority.

Dr Anton Sinniah, A&E acute physician and clinical director of unscheduled care for Rochdale Infirmary, said: “We have worked closely with our colleagues across our other hospital sites at Oldham and Bury and partner agencies including NWAS to ensure the new arrangements are in place.

“These changes will be monitored carefully to ensure patients are being transferred and treated appropriately at neighbouring local emergency departments.

“This is not a position we wanted to be in, but this situation has become more acute in the last few weeks due to the staffing situation and shortage of doctors, particularly middle grade medical staff in both A&E and Acute Medicine.

“This is not a decision the Trust has taken lightly but one that has been taken on the grounds of patient safety concerns.

“The Trust’s top priority is patient safety. A decision had to be made; it was the right decision and one I stand by. Patients need not change their existing patterns of access to urgent care as the Infirmary will remain open to walk in patients. The changes made are to minimize disruption to patients whilst maximizing patient safety. We are continuing actively in our attempts to resolve the staffing shortfalls.”

A spokesman for The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The people of Rochdale should not act any differently as a result of the night time diversions of blue light ambulances. The Rochdale Infirmary remains open for minor cases and walking wounded. For those calling an ambulance, the Ambulance Service will take patients to the most appropriate place.”